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Mom and Son Arrested for Alleged Drug Trafficking

A mother and her son were arrested for allegedly trafficking heroin, cocaine, fentanyl and marijuana. A spokesperson for USA Diving, which the woman was affiliated with, released a statement on the arrest. A neighbor also spoke out.

(Published Tuesday, June 5, 2018)

A New Jersey mother, who is a prominent diving coach, and her son were charged with trafficking fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and marijuana.

Candace Gottlieb, 59, of Cherry Hill and Tyler Gottlieb, 27, were both arrested Friday. Their arrests followed a federal investigation into the trafficking of counterfeit prescription opioid pills containing fentanyl and heroin, as well as cocaine and marijuana.

In March of 2018, federal officers seized $67,760 from Tyler Gottlieb as he was about to board a flight to California from Philadelphia International Airport, officials said.

The FBI later obtained 802 counterfeit prescription pills, at least 200 of which contained fentanyl and heroin, from Tyler and Candace Gottlieb during the ensuing months, according to investigators.

Officials also say the FBI bought cocaine in a transaction orchestrated by Tyler Gottlieb, seized about 40 pounds of marijuana sent by Tyler Gottlieb to New Jersey through the mail and obtained samples of cocaine and marijuana from Candace Gottlieb.

Investigators say they executed a search warrant of the Gottliebs' New Jersey home Friday and seized about 6,600 additional counterfeit prescription pills they suspect contained fentanyl and heroin as well as cocaine and marijuana packaged for distribution.

They also found and seized two handguns from inside the home and around $2,000 in cash, according to officials. No one was home when NBC10 visited on Tuesday.

On Saturday morning investigators executed a second search warrant of another home connected to Tyler Gottlieb and seized an AK-47 assault rifle, a shotgun, 1,000 rounds of ammunition, high-capacity ammunition magazines, two handguns, marijuana and packaging materials, officials said.

Tyler Gottlieb was arrested in California where he is awaiting a federal court appearance.

Candace Gottlieb has for 23 seasons been a men’s and women’s diving coach at The College of New Jersey in Ewing Township (TCNJ), helping to produce 20 NCAA Division III qualifiers who have earned 32 All-America awards, according to her bio on the school's website that was taken down on Wednesday.

Luke Sacks, head media relations officer at TCNJ, described Gottlieb as a "part-time employee who worked a limited number of hours as a men’s and women’s diving coach."

He said TCNJ had "terminated its contract with her effective immediately."

"The College of New Jersey was not contacted by law enforcement as part of its investigation and has no reason to believe that Candace Gottlieb was doing anything on TCNJ's campus other than the duties for which she was hired," he said.

She has also been affiliated with USA Diving, having served as a former vice president of junior diving for the organization, according to her TCNJ profile.

"USA Diving is aware of the circumstances surrounding Candace Gottlieb and has suspended her USA Diving membership," a spokesperson wrote.

In addition she was the founder of the South Jersey Diving Club and a past member of the Junior Olympic International Committee.

A neighbor told NBC10 Candace Gottlieb had another son who died of a drug overdose last year.

NBC10 tried reaching out to lawyers for both Gottliebs and has not heard back.